Instructions for using the data presented here are provided in the interpretive guide Your College-Bound Students.
For a copy of this guide, please write to ACT Research Services, ACT Inc., P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, IA 52243.

These data are based on all 1998 high school graduates who took the ACT Assessment during their sophomore, junior or senior year. For students who took the test more than once, only the most recent scores are used. Those students who tested on campus, used extended time testing or failed to list a valid high school code are not included.

College-bound students who take the ACT Assessment are not representative of college-bound
students nationally. First, students who live in the Midwest, the Mountain West, the Plains, and the South are overrepresented among ACT-tested students as compared to college-bound students nationally. Second, ACT-tested students tend to enroll in public college and universities more
frequently than do college-bound students nationally.

Caution should be used in comparing state and national norms. State norms may differ from national norms for non-educational reasons such as the representativeness of the ACT-tested population and the demographic makeup of a state.

Since the ACT Assessment is designed for students who plan to attend college, the focus is on the students who completed the recommended college preparatory courses. The recommended college core courses, as defined by ACT, include:

English (four years or more)

One year credit each for English 9, English 10, English 11, English 12